In the Shadow of Power - Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 19

Trying to find a way up around the sides of the castle was a feat unto itself. Especially while trying to avoid the myriad number of poachers keeping a watch on the place. Even under Disillusionment, Alayna feared any one of them might spot her. She should have run after Natty as soon as she'd made a break for the door. Instead, she was trying to be silent as a mouse as she snuck past a pair of poachers chatting about their traps or something else that Alayna didn't care to pay attention to. They were at least distracted enough not to notice her.

In fact, she was lucky that none of the poachers noticed her as she climbed her way around the tower via broken walls, makeshift platforms, and even entering the castle. Alayna had thought she might run into Natty once she entered the castle, but the place was just as much a maze as Hogwarts was. So she just kept climbing up, searching the rooms of the castle along the way for possible evidence. Not that a whole castle full of poachers wasn't evidence enough. Seriously, Alayna wondered why the Ministry didn't crack down on Rookwood and his men when their operations were so obvious and out in the open.

Along the way, Alayna took out a few poachers that were by themselves in some of the rooms using Petrificus Totalus. Hopefully no one would come in and find them like that or the whole place would know someone was there.

"Come on, Natty. Where are you?" Alayna muttered as she reached the top of the castle. She had to still be on one of the lower levels then. She was about to head down when she heard something behind a nearby door. It sounded like...a hippogriff screeching.

Immediately she went through the nearby door to see what was on the other side. She had been right, it had been a hippogriff she'd heard. Two of them were chained to the roof of the castle, one with brown feathers and the other...

"Highwing?" Alayna gasped and hurried over to the white hippogriff. Highwing nuzzled her shoulder, prancing anxiously. "Hang in there, girl. I'll set you free." She started studying the chains that were clasped around the hippogriff's legs. They weren't terribly heavy, she could probably blast them off.

"I'm going to break the chain, it will be okay," Alayna told Highwing as if the hippogriff might understand her. She wasn't sure if it worked, but she thought for a few seconds that Highwing stilled so she wasn't moving around as much. Using a basic cast was enough to snap the chain apart. She did the same for the brown hippogriff too.

Just as she was breaking the chain on the brown hippogriff's leg, the door burst open and Natty ran through.

"We need to go!" Natty shouted, looking panicked. Alayna had turned her wand on her at first, thinking she was a poacher but her panic only turned to figuring out how they were going to get off of the roof. Highwing nudged her shoulder again, flapping her wings and prancing as though she were inviting Alayna to climb on. Right, there were two hippogriffs. They could fly off with them.

"Climb on!" Alayna told Natty as she climbed on Highwing's back. Natty looked hesitantly at the brown hippogriff who instead of feeling grateful for being freed, simply decided to flee. It ran to the edge of the roof and took off.

"Wait!" Natty shouted with no luck. Behind them, several poachers came through the door wands out and ready to start attacking.

"Time to go, Highwing!" Alayna used her wand to protect the two of them as a barrage of spells came at them. Highwing snorted and took off at a running start. Before she reached the edge of the roof, she leapt into the air and grabbed Natty by the shoulders. With just a few powerful flaps of her wings, they were soaring through the air and away from the poachers who shouted angrily behind them. Alayna tried to hold on tight to Highwing using her legs and digging her hands into her feathers. Highwing climbed higher after the brown hippogriff and deposited Natty on its back. A few screeches from Highwing and it seemed willing to help out now.